


Cure-All

by MrBusterSword



Category: Final Fantasy VII (Video Game 1997), Final Fantasy VII Remake (Video Game 2020)
Genre: Canon Compliant, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-07
Updated: 2020-06-07
Packaged: 2021-03-04 02:07:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,008
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24595774
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MrBusterSword/pseuds/MrBusterSword
Summary: In the aftermath of the bombing mission that destroyed the sector 1 reactor, Jessie struggles to accept the reality that she was a part of creating while Cloud attempts to adjust to his new life in the slums. It doesn't take an ex-soldier to notice something's up with the local explosives expert.
Relationships: Jessie/Cloud Strife
Comments: 2
Kudos: 23





	Cure-All

The slums were never perfectly dark, the plate above was peppered with hundreds of lights. Distant illumination refracted through smog, causing the air itself to feel tangible, solid. Despite the ever present glow beneath the plate, the slums were quiet at night. Cloud had been here a few days now, he'd made it a habit to get to know his surroundings, walking the streets at night and memorising the layout as any good soldier would. No, that was a lie. In truth he liked the silence, it gave him space to think, or to stop thinking. His first mission with avalanche was a success, but the group had been quiet since then, solemn even. He understood why, but what did they expect?

The bomb did what it was meant to, what they had wanted it to do. Loose rubble and scrap cracked under his boots, he rounded a corner as a kicked stone skipped along the ground and clanged against some sheet metal used as a makeshift building material. He winced as the sound pierced the silence, but it soon returned as if it had never been disturbed. Cloud sighed and crossed his arms, what was he doing here? Babysitting these amateurs for spare change, they were naive, ill prepared for the reality of their actions.

Cloud began the walk back to his apartment, passing between the scrap buildings and painted metal sheets that played the part of storefront signage. Past Seventh Heaven, which had thrown out it's last patron hours prior. Cloud stopped. His raised boot hesitating above a patch of sharp light that poured from a nearby window, Seventh Heaven's window. The place should be empty. Every night previously, it had been.

He looked up at the poorly constructed porch - he placed a hand on the hilt of his sword strapped across his back and approached the crooked wooden steps. The boards creaked softly under his soles. Light fell across his face as his eyes narrowed and pupils dilated. His back to the door, hand poised by his sword. He peered through the window, a thin film of grime coating the cracked glass. The people of the slums loved Tifa, but their lives were ones of desperation and survival, some lowlife probably decided a break in was a quick way to make some extra gil.

His eyes adjusted to the light as he readied himself and scanned the room. Stools were placed neatly under tables, bottles of alcohol lined the shelves behind the bar, the register sat untouched, not what he was expecting. His eyes fixed on a single figure, slumped over a table, empty glasses lined up around her and a spilled bottle in arms reach. "Jessie?" Cloud whispered to himself. His hand fell away from his sword, reaching instead for the door. The sound of Cloud's footsteps filled the room as he approached.

Diagrams and blueprints littered the table, some stained by the last few drops of alcohol that had escaped the tipped bottle. Shot glasses sat empty, Jessie's head rested on her arms, her eyes closed as her back gently rose and fell with each breath. Cloud looked at the disparate sheets of paper, most of them he couldn't decipher but the ones he could had a common theme - explosives.

Jessie had made the bomb they used on their mission, the bomb that destroyed not only the reactor, but also homes, and lives. Cloud sighed, letting the sheet drift from his grip back onto the table. "Ok, get up," he spoke calmly as he kicked the closest table leg, causing the table to jolt suddenly.

"Wh-what?" Jessie stirred from her alcohol induced sleep, barely forming the word as her eyes fought against the light, glasses clattering as the table shook.

"Get up," Cloud repeated, "You shouldn't have these out, anyone could've walked in."

"Oh... right," Jessie slowly gathered her papers into a tattered pile, she stood, eyes still struggling to adjust. Her legs gave under her weight, catching herself on the table and sending one of the glasses tumbling to the floor below. "Oops, I think I...had a little too much."

Cloud rolled his eyes, he took Jessie's wrist and wrapped her arm over his shoulders, hooking his other arm around her waist. "Come on, I'll walk you home."

"Oh? My hero," Jessie smiled looking up at him

"Not a hero, a merc remember? You can pay me in the morning," Cloud made his way toward the door, turning off the lights as they made their way into the night air.

The two walked through the silent slums, florescent smog swirling overhead, accompanied only by the sound of their feet dragging through the rocks and rubble that littered the streets. Jessie leaned into Cloud, struggling to keep her eyes open. They arrived at her home, a shanty house, no different from the hundreds of others that populated the slums, unremarkable.

Jessie steadied herself against the wall and opened the door, hesitating at the threshold. She turned, supporting herself against the frame, she had intended to look Cloud in the eyes but couldn't tear her gaze from the floor.

"Cloud? Am I… am I a bad person?" Jessie kept her eyes away from his as she spoke, so he wouldn't see the tears forming in the corners. "The others… They say I'm not, to comfort me I think. But people are dead. Innocent people are dead because of what I did." Cloud kept silent, arms folded across his chest as she spoke "You won't spare my feelings, so tell me, am I a bad person?"

Cloud looked away, pausing. Jessie finally looked up at him, eyes glistening in the weak light. His lips parted as Jessie interrupted "Don't answer." Her fingers tightened their grip on the door frame, wiping the corner of her eye with the back of her wrist and forcing a smile. "Thanks for walking me home." She closed the door, leaving Cloud in the dim, artificial light.

He unfolded his arms and let out a sigh. "No, Jessie. You're not."


End file.
